MLB Player News

Lugo was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday due to a left calf strain.

Lugo was forced to leave his last start Tuesday after straining his calf and will now officially miss multiple turns through the rotation. The severity of his injury seems to be relatively minor, so a minimum stay on the IL is likely. Ryan Weathers was recalled from Triple-A El Paso to replace Lugo on the roster.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol confirmed Thursday that Liberatore will remain in the rotation, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Liberatore was terrific in his season debut with the Cardinals on Wednesday, tallying six strikeouts over five scoreless frames in a 3-0 win over the Brewers. The schedule, as currently sorted, calls for him to pitch early next week in a favorable matchup versus the Reds. The 23-year-old left-hander seems like a must-have in fantasy when you also factor in how well he was pitching at Triple-A Memphis prior to his promotion.

Manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Pepiot is still experiencing soreness in his left oblique, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Pepiot began throwing to live hitters earlier this month, but a setback has returned him to playing catch on flat ground. Originally expected to return in late May or early June, Pepiot could now be held out of action through the All-Star break.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Stone "makes the most sense" to replace Dustin May (forearm) in the starting rotation, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Michael Grove (groin) is traveling with the Dodgers, but only on the taxi squad for now, and it sounds like he'll be used in relief if -- or when -- he is activated. Stone racked up 10 strikeouts over 5.2 innings in his last start Tuesday at Triple-A Oklahoma City and can comfortably slot into May's spot Monday at Atlanta. May is out for at least a month with a flexor strain, so both Grove and Stone could ultimately get rotation turns. Bobby Miller might eventually be an option as well.

Grove (groin) has joined the Dodgers in St. Louis after throwing a bullpen session in Arizona on Wednesday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

The 26-year-old might be an option to help fill Dustin May's (forearm) spot in the rotation, which comes around again Monday at Atlanta. That would mean skipping a minor-league rehab assignment. Grove had posted an ugly 8.44 ERA through 16 major-league innings (four starts) with Los Angeles prior to suffering a right groin strain in late April.

The Dodgers placed May on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right flexor pronator strain.

May suffered the forearm strain in the first inning of his start Wednesday against the Twins and is expected to miss at least a full month. He's going to try platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment in an effort to avoid surgery and expedite the healing process. Gavin Stone seems like the best bet to fill May's spot in the Dodgers' rotation, though Michael Grove (groin) could eventually be an option.

Rutledge has gone exactly six innings in each of his last five starts for Double-A Harrisburg, logging a 2.40 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 30 innings.

Given that Rutledge has a middling 14.7 K-BB% and a similarly mediocre 35.9 percent groundball rate, it's hard to project a high ceiling for the 6-foot-8 righty. The No. 17 overall pick in 2019, Rutledge had only two-thirds of an inning above Single-A under his belt coming into the year, so it's encouraging that he is having success while going deep into games in the upper levels of the minors.

DeSclafani (toe) is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Marlins in San Francisco, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants' decision to move Sean Manaea to the bullpen earlier in the week supported the notion that the right toe issue that bothered DeSclafani during his most recent outing last Saturday in Arizona wouldn't be anything that forced him to miss a turn through the rotation. Through eight outings this season, DeSclafani has churned out a 3.06 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 35:5 K:BB across 50 innings.

Stripling exited his start Wednesday versus the Phillies in the fourth inning due to low-back tightness, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Given Stripling's worked out of the bullpen for parts of the season, seeing him fail to complete four innings wouldn't have been out of the ordinary. It's unclear at this time if he'll be able to make his next start on the road versus Minnesota next week. If Stripling is unavailable, Sean Manaea would likely temporarily rejoin the rotation in his place.

Cabrera left Wednesday's win over the Nationals after only 79 pitches due to a blister developing on his right middle finger, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.

The right-hander was putting together his best performance of the season, giving up two runs on five hits over five innings with six strikeouts to record his third win. It was the first time in his career Cabrera had lasted at least five innings without walking a batter, making the early exit that much tougher to swallow. He generated 18 swinging strikes, including nine against his changeup. "There were a lot of lefties in the lineup," Cabrera said after the game. "The plan was to attack them with the changeup inside, the curveball outside and the fastball up. That was the plan, and it worked today." Cabrera's next turn in the rotation is set to come early next week in Coors Field, so his fantasy GMs will likely be rooting for the blister to cause the Marlins to skip him, or at least delay his next outing until the team leaves Colorado.